Uninstall nvidia driver - this depends on which version you installed :

sudo apt-get remove nvidia-current

or

sudo apt-get remove nvidia-current-updates

or

sudo apt-get remove nvidia-experimental-304

Reinstall nvidia driver

sudo apt-get install nvidia-current-updates

When you do this, it must say something like:

Building initial module for 3.5.0-17-generic
Done.

If it says

Module build for the currently running kernel was
skipped since the kernel source for this kernel
does not seem to be installed.

then the problem will not be solved. Do not believe the message.
It is not asking for linux-source to be install, it does only want
the headers but you must install the specific -generic headers for
your kernel. Run:

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-`uname -r`

It will not work with just linux-headers-generic or linux-headers-3.5.0-17 (for example).

If it successfully installs, restart the computer :

sudo shutdown -r now

This should allow the kernel module to compile and install properly. It did for me!

I am sorry this way might work but i am really new to ubuntu so Is there an easier way to fix this, thank you for the post
–
LevanOct 18 '12 at 18:53

I'm pretty sure there is not. For some reason it's not downloading the linux source, and it is required in order to compile the Nvidia drivers. If you still have that proprietary driver window open, you should be able to switch back to the noveau (sp?) driver... If you do the exact commands that I put in parentheses, it should work for you. Sorry it isn't easier! :)
–
rft183Oct 18 '12 at 18:56

1

I managed to changed back to open source drivers with typing this command in terminal ,,gnome-control-center" and then selecting open source driver, but compiling is too much for me :) thank you very much for your help :)
–
LevanOct 18 '12 at 18:59

That's no problem. I'm sure in a few days there will be a fix so that you can do it graphically. At least you can use the system in the meantime!
–
rft183Oct 18 '12 at 19:03

If desktop still don't show, it might cause from Nvidia Optimus graphic card. I have laptop with GT 650M and that's also a Optimus card. Optimus cards behaves a little differently and there is no Linux support for them by default. More info about Optimus in linux: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1657660

But it's possible to get it working with Bumblebee. This is how I did it on fresh Ubuntu 12.10 installation (No nvidia drivers installed):

It didn't work first when I left off that second command. Then to run something with graphic card type optirun before command. In example: optirun glxspheres or optirun ./executable-file. Good way to test the difference between integrated graphics and your graphic card is to run glxspheres with and without optirun.

This saves power when you activate your graphic card only when it's needed. I hope I helped someone, because I have spent hours to find out the problem with my graphics card (yup, I'm quite new with these Linux graphics drivers).

sudo apt-get install linux-sources && sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic (I'm not entirely sure whether/why this step is necessary, but I saw it in this thread and thought I'd give it a try)

Open "Software Sources" from the Dash

Click "additional drivers" tab.

Activate NVIDIA binary xorg driver (proprietary, tested)

Reboot

so far so good - I have the NVIDIA settings panel (without the Xconfig error message), dual monitors, and high resolution.

Special note: do NOT install the "additional drivers" package (Jockey). This package actually seems to disappear after step 2 (software updates) - the method for adding additional drivers seems to have moved to the "software sources" app.

Installing linux-sources probably won't have any beneficial affect. You would use it when compiling the kernel. Jockey is no longer used in 12.10; this function has been taken over by ubuntu-drivers-common
–
fabricator4Nov 23 '12 at 7:52

and downloaded version for Linux-64bit
(install synaptic sudo apt-get install synaptic and look in the menu Settings -> Repository -> Additional Drivers to find out the exact name of your nvidia card)

Then you run the tool and it says you need kernel headers, however read carefully because it requires "generic" headers.

You need to verify your kernel version, mine was 3.5.0-17 (this "-17" at the end matters), so in my case I did:

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-3.5.0-17-generic

(find out your kernel version by typing ina terminal uname -r)

You need to kill GUI login daemon:

killall lightdm

and after that you may run:

sudo sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-310.19.run

Installer will probably tell you that Noveau kernel module is loaded and will suggest adding modprobe script. You should say Ok/Yes to all whatever it tells you and then reboot and run NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-310.19.run again.

Not sure if other approach would work as well, but this one does for sure.

I solved the problem tonight. I installed the latest Kernel 3.7.1 after compiling it like I always do. Then I installed the nVidia drivers from Synaptic. This caused the Unity menus to disappear like what you show in your screenshot. The solution for me is below: